MacBook Air 2022: News, Price, Release Date, and Specs

13.6" M2 MacBook Air With MagSafe Charging

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Updated on July 15, 2022

Apple announced the new MacBook Air at WWDC22. Following the well-received M1 MacBook Air is the M2 Air that has a larger 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with thinner borders and MagSafe charging.

MacBook Air M2 Release Date

Apple confirmed in June at WWDC that the new MacBook Air would arrive in the summer. It officially became available July 15, 2022. You can order the MacBook Air at Apple.com.

New MacBook Air Price

This MacBook starts at $1,199, and $1,099 for education. It's more depending on the storage, memory, and power adapter you want. You'll spend $2,499 if you get the top-of-the-line model.

You get the following at that introduction price:

Apple M2 chip with 8‑core CPU, 8‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
8 GB unified memory
256 GB SSD storage
30W USB-C Power Adapter
13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone
1080p FaceTime HD camera
MagSafe 3 charging port
Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports
Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

For the 10-core GPU, it's $100 more. You can also pick 16 GB memory for $200 more, or 24 GB for $400 more. If you need storage beyond the 256 GB, you have three other options, from 512 GB up to 2 TB. There are two additional power adapter choices: 35W Dual USB-C port or 67W USB-C power adapter.

New MacBook Air Features

Here are some of the biggest features to know about the 2022 Air:

1080p camera: The previous MacBook Air contains a 720p FaceTime HD webcam, basically the same one from the last several models. It came with an improved image processor, which Apple upgraded again this time. The new Air has a 1080p FaceTime HD camera with a larger image sensor and more efficient pixels that deliver twice the resolution and low-light performance of the previous generation.
Magnetic power adapter: Apple last used MagSafe in the 2017 Air, but since we saw its return with the 2021 MacBook Pro, it makes sense that it has returned with the 2022 Air.
Apple Silicon: They upgraded the 2020 MacBook Air with the Apple M1 chip, so we'll see another upgrade with this new Air: M2.
Increased performance: Compared to the M1 MacBook Air, this one is 1.4 times faster when it comes to video editing, and a whopping 15 times faster than an Intel-based Air.
New Magic Keyboard: The keyboard has a full-height function key row and includes Touch ID in the corner for authentication and payments, as well as a larger Force Touch trackpad.

Why You Should Care About Silicon Macs

New MacBook Air Specs and Hardware

This slim (11.3mm) and lightweight (2.7 pounds) laptop has a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with twice the resolution of the previous Air. Some early rumors were claiming a 15-inch version, but Apple confirmed this size at WWDC22.

According to Apple, MacBook Air offers a number of charging options, including an all-new 35W compact power adapter with two USB-C ports, so you can charge two devices at once. MacBook Air supports fast charge for charging up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes with an optional 67W USB-C power adapter.

In addition to silver and space gray, it's available in two new finishes: midnight and starlight. We also know there's a 3.5mm headphone jack and 8 hours of video playback.

Previous models came with 8 GB of RAM with the option to upgrade to 16 GB and storage that maxed out at 2 TB. Those specs are nearly the same with the 2022 version: you can upgrade to a 2 TB SSD, but the max memory is even higher at 24 GB.